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Vervet monkey
| status = LC | status_system = iucn3.1 | status_ref = | image = Chlorocebus pygerythrus.jpg | image_caption = Vervet Monkey at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | image_width = 300px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Mammalia | ordo = Primates | familia = Cercopithecidae | genus = Chlorocebus | species = C. pygerythrus | binomial = Chlorocebus pygerythrus | binomial_authority = F. Cuvier, 1821 | range_map = Vervet Monkey area.png | range_map_caption = Vervet Monkey range }} The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. Taxonomic classification The vervet monkey was previously classified as Cercopithecus aethiops. The vervet and malbrouck have often been considered conspecific, or as subspecies of the widespread grivet. There are five distinct subspecies of vervet monkey: * Chlorocebus pygerythrus excubitor * Chlorocebus pygerythrus hilgerti from southern KenyaBiodiversity occurrence data provided by: Field Museum of Natural History, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of Washington Burke Museum, and University of Turku (Accessed through GBIF Data Portal, www.gbif.net, 2010-06-18) * Chlorocebus pygerythrus nesiotes * Chlorocebus pygerythrus pygerythrus from South Africa, Botswana,Cillie', G.E.B. (1992). Pocket Guide to Southern African Mammals. ISBN 0-627-01686-3. Lesotho and Swaziland * Chlorocebus pygerythrus rufoviridis from Mozambique and Uganda(Isbell & Enstam under review) has a distinctly reddish coloured back which is darker towards the base of the tail. Physical description The vervet monkey has a black face with a white fringe of hair, while the overall body colour is mostly grizzled-grey.Stuart C. and Stuart T. (1997). Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa. ISBN 1-86825-757-6 The males of all species have a pale blue scrotum and a red penis. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, the males are larger in weight and body length. Adult males weigh between 3.9 and 8.0kg, averaging 5.5kg, and have a body length between 420 and 600mm, averaging 490mm from the top of the head to the base of the tail. Adult females weigh between 3.4 and 5.3kg and average 4.1kg, and measure between 300 and 495mm, averaging 426 mm. Behaviour Social structure The vervet monkey is diurnal and social; living in groups of up to 72.Pasternak G. et al., (2011). Population structure, habitat use and diet in a southern, semi desert vervet monkey. 34th meeting of the American Society of Primatologists There is a clear order of dominance among individuals within the group. Alarm calls The vervet monkey uses different calls upon detecting different types of predators, including leopards, snakes and eagles. Infants appear to have an innate tendency to make these alarm calls, and adult monkeys seem to give positive reinforcement when their young make the right call, by repeating the alarm. Mothers have been reported to punish young giving the wrong call.Seyfarth, R. M., Cheney, D. L. and Marler, P. 1980. “Monkey responses to three different alarm calls: evidence of predator classification and semantic communication.” Science 210: 801-803 Diet ]] The vervet monkey eats a wide range of fruits, figs, leaves, seeds and flowers. It also eats birds' eggs and young chicks, and insects (grasshoppers and termites). In human inhabited environments it will eat bread and various crops; especially maize. '''A list of some natural food plants and part of the plant eaten, in South Africa:'Pooley, E. (1993). The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. ISBN 0-620-17697-0. * Acacia erioloba - seeds and pods * Aloe spp - nectar (flowers) * Celtis africana - fruit * Colophospermum mopane - seeds * Deinbollia oblongifolia - fruit * Euphorbia ingens - fruit * Euphorbia tirucalli - fruit * Ficus abutifolia - figs * Ficus sur - figs * Ficus sycomorus - figs * Grewia caffra - fruit * Harpephyllum caffrum - fruit * Hyphaene coriacea - fruit * Phoenix reclinata - fruit * Protorhus longifolia - fruit * Rhus chirindensis - fruit * Sclerocarya birrea - fruit * Strelitzia nicolai - soft parts of the flowers * Ximenia caffra - fruit * Ziziphus mucronata - fruit Distribution and habitat The vervet monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia, Somalia and extreme southern Sudan, to South Africa. It is not found west of the East African Rift or the Luangwa River, where it is replaced by the closely related malbrouck (C. cynosuros). The vervet monkey inhabits savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest and mountains up to 4000 m (13,100 ft). They are adaptable and able to persist in secondary and/or highly fragmented vegetation, including cultivated areas, and sometimes are found living in both rural and urban environments. Introduced vervets also occur in Barbados, Saint Kitts, and Nevis. Dania Beach, Florida is also home to about 20 vervets. Conservation status In spite of low predator populations in many areas where human development has encroached on wild territories, this species is killed by electricity pylons, vehicles, dogs, pellet guns, poison, and bullets and is trapped for traditional medicine, bush meat, and for biomedical research. The vervet monkey has a complex and fragile social system, its persecution is thought to have affected troop structures and diminishing numbers. Multiple organisations are involved in vervet monkey conservation. In ancient history This species was known in ancient Egypt including the Red Sea Mountains and the Nile Valley. From fresco artworks found in Akrotiri on the Mediterranean island of Santorini there is evidence that the vervet monkey was known to the inhabitants of this settlement around 2000 BC; this fact is most noted for evidence of early contact between Egypt and Akrotiri. Gallery File:Vervet_skull_front_Ilanda.JPG|Front view of the skull of a Vervet Monkey File:Vervet_skull_side_Ilanda.JPG|Side view of the skull Image:Vervet monkey and baby.jpg|Vervet monkey female with a baby Image:Vervet Monkeys in Samburu.jpg|Vervet monkeys in Samburu Image:Chlorocebus pygerythrus Grüne Meerkatze.JPG|Male Vervet Monkey at Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, showing blue scrotum. File:Vervet_monkeys_Kruger.jpg|Female and juvenile, Kruger Park, South Africa File:Vervet monkey Feb09.jpg References External links * Vervet Monkey calls * BBC story: Vervet Monkeys raid farms * Darwin Primate Group * Vervet Monkey, Primate Info Net * Computerized atlas of Vervet brain MRI Category:Cercopithecine monkeys Monkey, Vervet